As the 2024 election season continues to take shape, political advertising is seeing large gains in three major metropolitan areas.
AdImpact has tracked nearly $110 million in political ad spending over the past two weeks, with the largest recipients of those figures being Los Angeles ($13.2 million), New York ($10.5 million), and San Francisco ($7.2 million).
Thus far, the highest-spending advertisers are the Adam Schiff for Senate campaign, as the current representative vies for the spot vacated by the death of Diane Feinstein. The campaign has spent $8.1 million.
Additionally, the American Values PAC — a political action committee supporting Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — spent $7.2 million.
Finally, the Yes on Prop 1 in California campaign — which will attempt to tackle mental health issues in the state — has spent $5.4 million in advertising.
In total, AdImpact has tracked 465 unique political ads across broadcast stations. In the 209 markets being monitored, election ads have aired a combined 87, 536 times.
February 17th is a bittersweet day for WBT host Brett Winterble.
On one hand, it marks the anniversary of the death of legendary conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, whom Winterble worked with for decades. Additionally, it marks the anniversary of his start date with Charlotte news/talk station WBT.
Winterble celebrated the anniversary of his debut with WBT last week, mentioning the conflicting feelings he has towards the date.
“A bittersweet day, as I reflect on Rush on this anniversary of his passing. At the same time happy to enter Year 5 as part of (WBT) it has been a huge blessing. Thank you for your support,” he wrote in a post to X.
A bittersweet day, as I reflect on Rush on this anniversary of his passing. At the same time happy to enter Year 5 as part of @wbtradio it has been a huge blessing. Thank you for your support.
Tennis sensation Roger Federer asked a friend to document his final tournament, the 2022 Laver Cup, and now that footage is being turned in to a documentary by Amazon Prime Video. Federer intended for the video to be a home movie for he and his family to enjoy, but when it was finished, those around him said the footage was special and needed to be shared with the public.
“It’s a snapshot of my life over those 12 days, which is pretty hardcore and interesting,” Federer told Bloomberg who was first to report the news of the documentary.
“It’s looking deep into another layer of the tennis tour–how the camaraderie is a good one on the tour,” Federer added. “Yes, here are rivalries, but off the court there are friendships and respect.”
Federer gave access to his hotel room, his home and his wife even spoke on camera, something she had not done in a long time. “I never let anyone come into my house,” Federer said.
The documentary not only captures the final moments of his illustrious tennis career that saw him win 20 Grand Slam championships, it also looks at his memorable rivalries with other tennis greats such as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The film is directed by Asif Kapadia, the Oscar winner for the Amy Winehouse documentary, Amy in 2015, amongst other films.
“During my career, I tended to shy away from having cameras around me and my family, especially during important moments,” Roger Federer said. “But I didn’t see the harm in shooting this as it was never intended for the public. However, we captured so many powerful moments, and it transformed into a deeply personal journey. I am happy to be partnering with Prime Video because of their vast global reach and significant presence in the film industry. This ensures that the story of my final days in tennis will resonate with both tennis enthusiasts and broader audiences worldwide.”
The documentary is likely to be released in July, around the 2024 Wimbledon tournament.
Alert your local sports media CEO — the 12 p.m. SportsCenter is back, at least for the next two weeks while The Pat McAfee Show takes a well-deserved break. The show will be back on March 4, and in the meantime, the noon SportsCenter will fill its three-hour timeslot.
PROGRAMMING ALERT: @PatMcAfeeShow will be off air on a scheduled break from Feb. 19-March 1@SportsCenter will air from noon-3p on ESPN during the show’s break
ESPN PR put out two posts on X prior to the show’s noon timeslot to disseminate the news. McAfee and crew made no formal mentions of a vacation on social media, only posting a moment from the show’s Nov. 21 edition at 9:23 a.m. today.
Bonus @SportsCenter begins Feb. 19 with three-hour weekday editions through March 1
McAfee has had his fair share of conflict with ESPN since bringing his show to the network last year but the show has been a hit for the Worldwide Leader. The Pat McAfee Show posted its most-watched month ever in Jan. 2024 and drew an average of 506,000 viewers across linear and digital throughout that month. However, McAfee took a shot at ESPN exec Norby Williamson, accusing him of sabotaging the show by leaking inaccurate ratings figures and referring to the exec as a “rat.”
Our opening line, of course, is a reference to the ongoing beef between McAfee and The Ringer CEO Bill Simmons, the latter of whom recently made a dig at the former’s ratings using the departed 12 p.m. SportsCenter as ammo. On The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons said, “Everybody’s ratings are basically up except for the NBA and whoever replaced the 12 p.m. SportsCenter. If your ratings don’t go up it’s probably a bad sign.” For the next two weeks, Simmons can ratings watch and see if his statement was true, while McAfee may continue to make it a case of him vs. the world.
“I’ve got four draft-age children, so if you’re playing recklessly, fast, and loose with their lives, then I have a right to despise you, and I do,” Carlson said in an interview with comedian Russell Brand.
In response, Shapiro took to X to defend his positions, alleging Carlson had misrepresented his stances on the matter.
“Tucker is simply lying about my positions. I’ve been calling for a negotiated end to the Ukraine war freezing the lines of conflict since early on in the war. I have never called for American boots on the ground in Ukraine. Ever. I have never called for American boots to defend Israel. Ever,” wrote Shapiro. “I’ve invited Tucker to sit down multiple times over the past few weeks to clear the air and discuss our differences. He’s said he’s willing, but his team has told us that he’s busy for months because of all of his foreign travel. That offer remains open.”
Tucker is simply lying about my positions. I’ve been calling for a negotiated end to the Ukraine war freezing the lines of conflict since early on in the war. I have never called for American boots on the ground in Ukraine. Ever. I have never called for American boots to defend… https://t.co/DhEO6Rx0Ub
On her podcast, Candace Owens argued that neither one of the conservative titans would be able to sway the other from their positions, but was hopeful that a sit-down between Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro could be arranged.
“Obviously, Tucker believes in free speech. He believes in disagreements, and eventually, the two of them will sit down and Tucker will explain his position further and he’s not going to bend on it. And Ben will explain his position further and he’s not going to bend on it,” said Owens.
“And people who respect Ben’s positions are going to follow Ben and people who respect Tucker’s positions are going to follow them. It doesn’t necessarily need to be read like a World War. It just needs to be read that we are not a monolith in the conservative movement. And we all think different things and different ideas and different thoughts should just be permissible.”
A new era began this morning at 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit with Jim Costa taking over the seat vacated by Mike Stone who semi-retired on Friday. “Welcome aboard, good morning, a new chapter at 97.1,” said Costa as the show started. “I am thrilled to be here with Jon Jansen and Heather Park.”
“Welcome to the show,” Park said and then noted they had all worked together before when Costa had been on the show as a fill-in. Despite having reps together previously, the team admitted to having some nerves on this first day of what is now known as Costa and Jansen.
“I kind of feel nervous, but that’s stupid because I have worked with you before,” Park added. Costa then let the listening audience know they don’t plan to change much. “We aren’t going to reinvent the wheel…we are going to have newsmakers and interviews and fun and all that stuff,” he said.
Then, as any good athlete would do, Jansen, the former Michigan star and NFL offensive tackle, began hazing the new member of the team. His focus this morning was on Costa’s choice of a pink shirt.
“There’s some things that we have to do to get you onboarded so to speak,” said Jansen. Then, after Jansen pointed out the shirt Costa was wearing, Park said Jansen “must have missed the memo that we were wearing pink.”
“All the ladies did,” quipped Jansen, to which Costa said, “That’s how this is gonna roll, I see.”
The hosts then set the over/under on how long it would be before Costa was late for a show. Park mentioned it had happened to everyone on the show at least once and Jansen set the number at a year. Costa, feeling confident, said he would be bold and predict he will never be late.
“This is a dream come true for me. My whole career, I’ve chased the chance to build a show on 97.1 The Ticket,” Costa said in a press release in September when it was announced he would take over at the end of the football season. “I grew up listening to this station and rooting for these teams. To start the conversation in Detroit every morning is special. Jon Jansen and I are a good contrast; we play off each other well, and I’m excited for the show we will create along with Heather and the entire morning show crew.”
Costa has primarily hosted on the weekends and as a fill-in host since joining The Ticket in early 2021. Prior to that, he served as program director and afternoon host on ESPN 96.1 in Grand Rapids.
CNN host Jim Acosta bid adieu to his weekend program CNN Newsroom Sunday as he prepares to shift to a daily midday program as part of the network’s new lineup.
As part of an on-air shuffle, Acosta will host CNN Newsroom at 10 AM ET after a revamped morning show edition of CNN News Central airs from 7-10 AM ET.
Sunday marked the final time Acosta would host the weekend show, with his weekday debut coming on Monday, February 26th.
In his final weekend show, Acosta thanked his regular guests, his behind-the-scenes crew, and viewers for supporting the program.
“I’m so thankful to all of them,” Acosta said of his production crew and producers. “And thank you so much for spending part of your weekends with me these last few years. I will see you soon.”
And that's a wrap for Jim Acosta @acosta on weekends ! Weekday anchoring for Mr. Acosta starts Monday, February 26th at 10 am pic.twitter.com/qMnMhVPhPl
David Haugh of 670 The Score in Chicago discussed ESPN’s Jay Williams saying he was “unwilling…to say that she is great yet” about Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. Late last week, Clark moved into first place on the all-time NCAA Division I women’s college basketball scoring list.
Over the weekend on College GameDay, Williams said, “I think the way she plays, the pizzazz, is, she’s probably the most prolific scorer the game of basketball has ever seen.” Williams said, while comparing her to Steph Curry. “I am unwilling … to say that she is great yet.”
“I’m not saying that she’s not at a high, high, high level,” Williams continued, “but for it to go to the states of immortality in my opinion, it has to culminate with your team winning a championship.”
Haugh did not think Williams had much of a leg to stand on with this opinion. “When you express your opinion for a living, I don’t feel comfortable always criticizing people for just the opinions they have,” he said, “because I do think it’s fair game and it’s not wrong, and it’s just somebody’s opinion. If they can support it, I think you respect that professionally and you don’t want to get personal. This to me though was so offensive that I think he deserves to be called out.”
Haugh said he disagreed with anyone who says athletes need to win a championship before you can call them great. He cited the usual names that come up in this particular conversation such as Charles Barkley, Dan Marino and Ernie Banks.
“I don’t know what it is about Caitlin Clark that [Williams] finds so difficult to embrace, but there is greatness in everything that she has done. There’s greatness in the way she has advanced her sport, there is greatness in the way that she has provided attention and created revenue for her school, for her state, for her own career.
“The fact that Jay Williams has to qualify it, says there’s something wrong with him, not her. It says there must be some sort of mental block with him, I dont know what it is but it’s stark and it’s bothersome and it’s really really bad. He can do better…and this was really terrible to see somebody paid for his opinion, respected in the profession, come up this short and be this wrong and this dumb on something like this.”
Leila Rahimi, filling in for Mike Mulligan, added that she was surprised with Williams’ take and said, “I don’t know how you judge Caitlin Clark’s greatness on something that requires other people when we see the numbers that she has put up. I don’t even know why this is still a discussion.”
iHeartMedia’s Black Information Network President Tony Coles has been added to the board. Also joining the board is Dr. Caroline Frick, who currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Radio/TV/Film department at the University of Texas. Finally, Katz Television Group President Leo MacCourtney is being added to the board.
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Tony, Caroline, and Leo to the LABF Board of Directors,” said co-chairs Heidi Raphael and Jack Goodman in a joint statement. “Their valuable insight and experience will help in our mission to preserve, protect and promote radio and television broadcasting’s incredible history.”
Additionally, 12 members of the LABF Board of Directors were elected to new three-year terms. Included in that list are Pierre Bouvard, Gary Chapman, Mary Collins, Mike Conway, Dave “Chachi” Denes, Erica Farber, Harry Jessell, David Kennedy, Dr. Judy Kuriansky, Brian Philips, Heidi Raphael and Julie Talbott.
Finally, the rest of the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation board includes Heather Birks, Sally Brown, Michael Carter, Mary Collins, April Carty-Sipp, Chandra Clark, John Dille, Jack Goodman, Richard Liebner, Jim Morley, Ginny Hubbard, Deborah Parenti, Larry Patrick, Walter Podrazik, Patricia Smullin, Jeff Smulyan, Dan Spears, John Taylor, Joyce Tudryn, and Dennis Wharton.
KDKA has announced it is debuting a new overnight show that will be hosted by students from the University of Pittsburgh.
KDKA Next Take will be hosted by three Pitt students — Margaux Rentzel, Jaime Ely, and Ryan Tarabokia — and will be produced by an additional student, Dylan Foster. The program will air from 1-5 AM on weekdays, with the nationally syndicated Red Eye Radio remaining in the timeslot on weekends.
“This is a project that I have been developing for a few years and it’s ready to launch. It’s the right time and the right place with the right people. This show will bring a fresh look at local news from the perspective of the next generation, which is so crucial in 2024 and beyond,” said Audacy Pittsburgh Vice President and Market Manager Michael Spacciapolli.
“Our commitment to local news and content never wavers and being able to add significant local content overnight through this partnership and with new perspectives is a win on every level,” he concluded.
All of the students involved with the new program on KDKA are under the tutelage of Pitt’s Director of Undergraduate Studies in Broadcast Kevin Michael Smith, according to Radio Insight.
